Warships part of U.S. contingency plan for Sochi Olympics

[charlie and algernon]

Last edited Mon Jan 20, 2014, 03:30 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: CNN

(CNN) -- The U.S. military will have up to two warships and several transport aircraft on standby under a contingency plan to help evacuate American officials and athletes from the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, if ordered, a U.S. official said.

The State Department would take the lead in organizing and evacuating Americans, if necessary, the official with direct knowledge of the plan told CNN.

Moscow would have to ask for such assistance before the United States would act, the official said.

But planes and ships are clearly there "if something happens like a major terrorist attack and we need to get Americans out," the official said.


Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/20/politics/sochi-security/

---

This is like a fricking bad action movie. Terrorists attack Sochi. US sends in troops to evacuate American athletes. Russia and the US end up fighting each other.

[davidthegnome]

1. Yeah.. I was going to ask..

And what do the Russians think of this? I can guess, though. US warships in Russian waters? Hmm... I'm not convinced our current relations are really good enough to hold up well under that. Don't we at least need the approval of the Russian government to do this?

[Bluenorthwest]

8. Where does it say 'in Russian waters'? Oh, that's right it does not.

We don't need their approval to protect our own nor to have a navy.

[davidthegnome]

10. Forgive me if I am mistaken... however...

Wouldn't those ships have to enter Russian waters to evacuate Americans? I'm sure they'll clear it somehow through diplomatic channels, first, but personally, it makes me a little nervous. The cold war may be over, but memories of that time are still very strong.

[hack89]

15. Did you read the entire OP?

especially the part where it says we would only do it with Russian permission?

[charlie and algernon]

24. Playing Devil's Advocate, let's look at the worst case scenario

Let's say there is a major attack like a bombing or something like Munich with armed terrorists on the ground. Americans have been killed, others are wounded. The US asks to send people in to get the American casualties and the rest of the delegation out. Russia denies the initial requests, says it's under control and they got it. How long does the US wait before they can't wait any longer to protect its citizens?

[okaawhatever]

25. Getting Americans out can also mean giving them transportation from somewhere near Russia back to

the US. Maybe Russia could get Americans out of Russia but if there were a major terror attack, commercial airlines would either be jammed or not flying. Russia could get them to a country nearby. There are a lot of options that don't involve entering Russia waters or airspace. Also, these ships likely have helicopters and or airplanes on them so they will be available for any kind of transportation. That's what they did in the Philippines. The created an "air bridge" to get supplies and people from one point to another.
America and probably most other countries have troops on standby during these events. My brother-in-law and his reserve unit had a "drill" during the Nagano Olympics. They had a joint exercise with Japan and some other country/countries a couple hours away from the Olympics. They were actually doing some sort of drill, but the point was they were there if need be. I think with Russia it's a little different because they aren't as friendly about letting other armies in their country, or holding joint military exercises but it's not unprecedented. I think what's unprecedented is Russia not sharing the intelligence when there is such a threat nor coordinating with other countries.

[RC]

2. Sure, why not? We haven't had a world war for almost 70 years.

It'll be fun, donchano? All that death and destruction. The people that want this, holed up in a government built, reinforced fortress under a mountain somewhere. Yeah, that's the ticket.

We need better leaders for our country.

[RKP5637]

6. Yep, the MIC is just licking their chops for another major war! Just

imagine the profits to be had by the war profiteers and proliferators!

[BluegrassDem]

3. We would probably evacuate the athletes to Georgia

I don't think Russia would allow any foreign troops on their soil.

[MyNameGoesHere]

4. Turkey would be a more logical choice

taking them to Georgia would be provocative to Russia. They could live with Turkey.

[Bluenorthwest]

9. Clearly they'd evacuate to US ships at sea....

I'd say the ships are there so that no one would have to worry about where to go.

[okaawhatever]

26. Yes, plus they're probably loaded with helicopters and aircraft to get people to and from. If there

were an event that didn't involve Americans we'd probably help out whoever was in need. I'm sure they will have more than a few radio intercept operators, or whatever they call them these days, trying to get info from known terrorist sympathizers.

[democratisphere]

5. The US should keep out of Russian Olympic Security and related business.

The very last thing the Russians want is a terrorist attack during their hosting of the Winter Olympics in Sochi. Let them handle it!

[AllMighty]

7. seriously?

Are you people like 9 years old? Do you seriously think the US is just going to send war ships and air carriers to Russian waters without clearing this first??? LOL...

[Ranchemp.]

11. ^^^This^^^.

Welcome to DU.

[hlthe2b]

18. Indeed... I was pretty shocked at the conclusions some were making here...especially given the US is

helping Russia with security by sharing information (as previously reported in MSM0 and (perhaps) rendering other aid.

[penultimate]

38. Yes. Obama is totally itching for a war with Russia... Isn't it obvious?

I wouldn't be surprised if he nukes Sochi to kill any terrorists who dare attack Sochi.

[freshwest]

41. I know! He has such a burning desire to kill!!! And he and Putin NEVER talk to each other. DERP!

For those who need it:

For those who don't what DERP means:



http://betterment.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1017&pid=144684

[iandhr]

12. There must be a serious underlying threat.

This didn't happen for the summer games in London in 2010 or the last winter games in Vancouver.

[AllMighty]

14. because...

... they are targeting Russia (Putin's policies)... not the Olympics in general.

[iandhr]

17. And the Olympics provide them with an opportunity.

[OnlinePoker]

23. I would say it's a result of the Benghazi probe.

The Republicans kept harping on the fact that no rescue mission was sent in but it turned out there were no assets even in the area to do a rescue if needed. Now, knowing the timeline for a potential attack, the Navy is prepositioning as close as possible to get there if needed.

[okaawhatever]

27. There are millitary types nearby during these things. I know my brother in law's reserve unit was

on drill during the Nagano Olympics. They were about two hours away doing a joint exercise with the Japanese and probably other armies. You just didn't hear about it because Japan was more open about sharing information and this Olympics is probably the most threatened. I'm sure the Canadians probably had the US, UK, and Australia at least nearby or on standby.

[JDPriestly]

13. I hope that Snowden stays as far from Sochi as he possibly can.

[frwrfpos]

16. U.S. war mongering and arrogance on display

Russia is quite capable of security at the Olympics.

[Ranchemp.]

19. This isn't about Russia's capablility to provide security,

this is about the U.S. being prepared to evacuate our citizens in a worse case scenario.
And, this has NOTHING to do with U.S. warmongering or arrogance.

[frwrfpos]

20. thats funny

We didnt send warships to London or other olympics. And if the threat is so bad why are we sending our althletes ro begin with. Sorry, you are mistaken. This is U.S. arrogance and war mongering and weve been doing its for many decades. Plently of evidence of our violent out of control military injecting itself into other countries affairs

[Ranchemp.]

21. We're not injecting our military into Russian affairs,

they'll be standing off just in case they're needed to evacuate our citizens.
You're the one that's sadly mistaken.

BTW, welcome to DU.

[frwrfpos]

22. thanks for the welcome

[Ranchemp.]

40. BTW, one of our SOG's are headed over to Socchi

to help with security.

[okaawhatever]

29. I don't believe you're correct on this. Yes we did help the Brits during the London Olympics. Most

countries did. As I've mentioned earlier in the thread, my brother in law's reserve unit was doing a drill during the Nagano Olympics about two hours away. He was there with his combat engineer unit, a Japanese unit and likely other militaries. It's s.o.p. you just don't hear about it. The Canadians had help as well.

Russia's military may not be able to protect everyone. Not because they aren't good, but because they are a huge geographical country with an Army that's proportional to the size of the population. Putin and the military have a huge amount of ground to cover and tons of border countries/border checkpoints. It's not going to be easy especially with the Chechens so close by.

[penultimate]

39. I'd wonder if that has anything to do with the fact that the US already has

a huge presence in the vicinity of where the London Olympics were held. If they needed to evacuate people from the area, they didn't need to move ships with transports into position, because they already had them there. There also appears to be far more risk of terrorist attacks there then was during the London Olympics. There are credible threats by groups who just recently took part in terrorist attacks in the area. Sadly it looks as if the Russians will have a lot to contend with. Hopefully they will be able to prevent any attacks. My concern isn't that I don't think the Russians are capable of handling, but the fact that any country under a similar threat risk would have a similar probability of a successful attack. That being said, I think it would be foolish for any government to not be prepared to move their people out in the event something does happen. It would be expected for them to do it, so why not prepare for it?

[hack89]

42. We have military bases in England. The Seventh Fleet was underway for the 1988 games

Operation DISTINGUISHED GAMES was a NATO operation to provide military support to the 2004 games - the US was a part of that. There was US involvement through NATO for the Turin and Vancouver games.

[davidpdx]

37. Whether they are capable of security we will see for ourselves next month

I agree we shouldn't get involved. We should have a contingency plan to evacuate Americans if something happened. In the event that did happen it should only be for that purpose.

[1000words]

28. Fuck it ... not even going to bother with the Olympics this time

[Scairp]

31. Is that fair to our athletes though?

It's not as if you or I have bought tickets and are going to Russia. We are only watching on t.v. The athletes deserve our support, as much as we can give from here. No doubt they would prefer not to have to worry about terrorists openly making threats against the games. It must be a terrible distraction for them. After all, they don't pick the frigging place to have them, and frankly I don't know what the IOC was thinking in awarding them to Russia just as I didn't understand when they awarded them to Beijing with their horrible human rights record. Fingers crossed nothing bad happens.

[1000words]

32. For me, sports is an escape from politics

This shit already feels like a bad Hollywood script. Pass.

[Scairp]

33. It isn't about you or me

It's about our athletes living their dreams. At the risk of repeating myself, they are deserving of our support. The location is not in their control. You could skip the news during the Olympics and just watch the games. I am hoping that commentators will not be bringing it up constantly. My sense is they will not, they will focus on the games themselves.

[davidpdx]

36. I tend to agree with 1000 Words

While I support the athletes and wish them well, I won't be watching the games. Between the terrorist threats, the anti-gay laws, and the treatment of the residents of Sochi I won't contribute to the television ratings. It doesn't mean that I won't read about them somewhere on the internet. Some pressure needs to be put on the IOC for the terrible decision they made to award the Winter Olympics to Sochi in the first place. In my opinion, there aren't many other ways of doing so.

[Scairp]

30. These Olympics should have been moved

I don't know how the athletes feel but if I were one I'd be really nervous something might happen, ala Munich. And I do hope our government is sending Marines from the embassy to provide security to our athletes.

[davidpdx]

35. I agree

But once they are awarded, moving them is difficult. The thing is they should have never been awarded to Sochi in the first place.

[davidpdx]

34. In any foreign country where there are Americans there is usually a contingency plan for evacuation

I've been saying for awhile now that the area the Olympics are being held in is unstable. Moving war ships in is unusual.

All I know is we shouldn't get involved with the Olympic security directly. The games are being held in Russia, let them deal with it. If something happens and we have to go get our athletes, then we should do it. Otherwise we should stay out of it.

[dipsydoodle]

43. US jets and warships ready to help Russia with security at Sochi Olympics

The US military said on Monday that air and naval assets, including two ships in the Black Sea, would be made available to help Russia combat any possible terrorist attacks on the Sochi Winter Olympics.

The Pentagon said US military commanders were "conducting prudent planning and preparations" should American support be required during the Winter Olympics, which has been the target of threats by militant Islamist group.

"The United States has offered its full support to the Russian government as it conducts security preparations for the Winter Olympics," Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said in a statement.

"Air and naval assets, to include two Navy ships in the Black Sea, will be available if requested for all manner of contingencies in support of – and in consultation with – the Russian government."

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/21/us-military-support-russia-sochi-olympics